Tomb Raider: Hera's Staff
by Priest-of-Gaia
Summary: When Lara attempts to find a forgotten treasure that once belonged to the goddess Hera, she finds it is not in one piece. As Lara faces the challange of finding all the pieces, she also faces a person who intends to steal them first.
1. Mysterious Thief

**_Tomb Raider: Hera's Staff_**

**Chapter 1**

_Mysterious Thief_

"Okay Lara, your climbing gear should be in the trunk," Zip came through her headset as she stepped out of her jeep and attached her holsters with .32 pistols to her legs. She stretched her arms and legs, then approached what she intended to enter.

"Wow," she stated as she looked down. It was a large hole in the earth that lead into a deep cave. It was recently discovered by a couple of hikers, one of which, currently resided at the bottom, at least, what was left of him. According to etchings on nearby rocks, it was the resting place of a staff. A staff that belonged to the goddess Hera from Greek mythology. A find that would quickly make Lara one of the happiest people in the world. As soon as she heard, she raced to Greece as fast as possible, intending to be the first one in.

"Yeah 'wow'. That is a giant drop!" Zip said shuttering from looking down in it.

"Really? It's a bit smaller than I imagined," Lara said.

"Of course," Zip muttered.

"Well, let's get started," she said gladly.

"Right. Like I said your climbing gear is in the trunk-" Zip started. Lara dropped into the opening, catching the edge, and lowered herself in. "-which you obviously won't be using."

"Never cared for that stuff. To much to keep track of. Wouldn't want to loose anything, would I?" Lara asked.

"No, I suppose not," Zip said sardonically. Lara slipped on a rock and saved herself from a fall by latching herself onto the nearest vine.

"Whoops," she said as normal as someone who had just dropped a pen.

"Careful!" Zip shouted nervously.

"Always," she said. She slowly slid down the vine until it reached the end, then climbed back onto the wall of rocks. "Half way there."

"I hope you brought your flash light," he stated, noticing the increasing darkness.

"I'm stubborn, not stupid," she stated as she flicked it on and positioned it securely on the strap of her backpack. She noticed a small stream jutting from the wall and falling to a large pool at the bottom. It looked deep.

"Lara," Zip said in a warning tone. "Don't disprove that stupid remark." Lara took another look at the pool of water.

"Zip, don't look," Lara said, releasing her grip and pushing off the wall to fall head first into the water. She cut through he water silently with a perfect dive and arched her back to quickly pull up and reach the surface. She laughed at the thrill of the moment.

"Lara! That was insane," Zip yelled.

"_That _was fun," Lara corrected him as she waded to land. "Now, what do you have up top? Any visitors I should know about yet?"

"Nope. It's clear. No one should bother you," Zip informed her.

"Wonderful." Lara pulled herself out of the water and stepped forward a bit to view the cave. Two corridors lied ahead of her, each going in different directions. "Hmm. Left or Right?"

"Uhh...Right," Zip answered. Lara went left. "Thanks for your faith in me."

"You're welcome." She found the corridor started to get smaller. The ceiling was within inches from her head. She came to an abrupt stop as her foot brushed the edge of a deep chasm.

"Yikes," Zip said.

"I can't see across. This flashlight is too small," Lara stated, reaching into her backpack for a flare. She bent it a couple of times to cause it to illuminate in green. She carefully threw it across the chasm. It revealed a room on the other side. Lara squinted to view it. "It's a staircase."

"Well if you had gear, that wouldn't be to hard to get to, but-" Zip started before being cut off.

"Nonsense," she told him. She took a couple of steps back and took a deep breath before running to the edge. She let her right foot bend on the ledge before thrusting up to jump. She grabbed the ledge opposite, but lost grip with her left hand causing her to only have one hand for hanging on.

"Lara?" Zip asked in shock as she started to slip.

"I'm fine," she said as she quickly threw up her other hand to grab the ledge. She pulled herself up and rolled onto the ground above.

"Whoa," Zip exclaimed. Lara stood up and brushed her front off.

"Now, to descend in a much proper manner," she said as she began walking down the stairs cautiously. It spiraled down for several minutes before it ended at a door. It was made of wood, and looked extremely old.

"How you getting through?" Zip asked, although he truly knew the answer. Lara swiftly kicked the door down to reveal a giant chamber that looked as though it had barely aged.

"Woah!" Zip yelled.

"What?" Lara asked, instinctively letting her hands fall to her pistols.

"Weird. A lightning bolt just struck near your jeep," Zip told her.

"Not that unusual. It looked fairly cloudy," Lara said, far more concerned with what was in front of her.

"I guess," he said. Lara took a couple steps in the chamber. It had marble floors, marble walls, and a marble ceiling. It had a spectacular chandelier hanging over a pedestal and a large golden statue behind that. The statue resembled Hera with outstretched hands.

"Interesting," Lara said. She approached the pedestal and quickly noticed that she was staring at something much smaller than a staff. It looked like a small gem, made of gold that resembled a crown. As she got closer, it appeared to have three small openings in it, as though you could fit three small jewels in it. "This isn't the full staff. This appears to only be the top of it. And it is missing three parts-" Lara stopped speaking as door her right opened and a someone draped in a black cloak, sprinted towards the pedestal, snatched the piece, and began running back to the door.

"Who is that-" Zip started.

"Hey! Stop!" Lara screamed as she grabbed her pistols and shot twice simultaneously at the person. One bullet hit the person's leg. The scream gave away that the person was female. She quickly regained her balance from the shot and ran through the door. Lara sprinted after her and when she reached the door, she fired several times down a hallway. The woman rolled and took a sharp right up a similar staircase Lara had came down.

Lara followed her up the stairs, trying to move quicker to reach the woman. When she got to the top, she saw the tail of the cloak whip around a corner which Lara desperately shot at. She dived at the corner and unloaded each clip at the woman, hitting her several times in the legs and once in the back. She fell, but stood up, and sprinted away again.

"How is she still moving!" Lara cried as she chased her again after reloading her guns. She came out at the exact location she came into the cave in, except the opposite corridor. Lara looked up and saw a rope fall down from the top where it had been cut.

"She just passed your jeep," Zip told her.

"How did she climb that rope with that many injuries?" Lara asked. "And how did you not see her come down?"

"I don't know. Nobody was there. You can check the tape," Zip said.

"I intend to. I'm coming back to the manor. If I find out who that was, I will place several bullets between her eyes."

* * *

Okay, reason behind the extremely short chapter is, I want to know what people think of it immediately before continuing. I would like to have at least two reviews before updating. 


	2. The Goddess Hera

**Chapter 2**

_The Goddess Hera_

"Lara, you need to slow down. At the rate your going, you're going to end up pulverizing a small animal," Zip said, watching Lara speed down a dirt road to get to her extraction point.

"Don't worry about it Zip. Did you contact my ride out?" Lara asked, keeping a unblinking focus on the road.

"Alistair did. Mr. Santori agreed to take you back to the manor in his chopper," Zip told her as she finally came to a highway that lead back into the nearest town.

"Good. In the meantime, look at the recording of the cave. Try to find out how that woman got in and then figure out who she is," Lara instructed as she drastically reduced her speed after seeing a marked police car.

"Okay," Zip said.

"Oh, and put Alistair through, I want him to search for some background history behind this staff. Maybe we can find out why it was separated and where the pieces are," Lara said.

"Sure," Zip complied.

"Hmm,?" Alistair asked through Lara's ear piece.

"Alistair, I want you to find any evidence about how and where Hera's staff was separated. I need as much background history as possible," Lara said.

"Oh, now you need me," Alistair stated.

"Come on Alistair. You must understand how distracting it is to have you and Zip in my ear. I sear, I lose my head sometimes with you two arguing," she said honestly.

"Well you understand it isn't _my_ fault," Alistair said angrily.

"Of course. If it makes you feel better, you can join Zip on my next outing, but first, please research about Hera, yes?" Lara asked.

"All right," he complied. "See you in a couple hours then," Lara said, taking off her ear piece, as she found the road to the heli pad she intended to leave on. As she drove up to a chain-link fence with a gate blocking the heli pad, she was halted by an officer.

"What do you need?" he asked with a strong accent Lara had to interpret quickly.

"I have a man picking me up here. Mr. Santori?" she asked the man.

"I am sorry. He has called to inform you he will be an hour late. Are you Lady Croft?" he asked.

"Yes."

"He has instructed you to go into to town and browse in the meantime," he told her. Lara sighed.

"Thank you," she said, a bit disappointed in having to wait. She put her jeep in reverse and turned around. She drove to the nearest parking lot that was surrounded by shops. She grabbed her ear piece to contact Zip.

"Zip?" she stated firmly.

"Yep," he replied.

"I have been told Mr. Santori is late. Why?" she asked, not expecting that Zip actually knew.

"Don't know. I guess he had an errand to run. What are you going to do? Wait? How long will you be?" he asked.

"I suppose I will have a look around. I have a bloody hour to kill," she said, wanting badly to have access to a computer so she could find information on the staff.

"Well, kill away," Zip said sarcastically. Lara pulled out the ear piece and tossed it on the passenger seat. She unbuckled and stepped out of the jeep. She nearly forgot she had her pistols strapped to her. She took them off and threw them in, locking the door after them. She stepped in the closet shop.

It was compiled of several badly made souvenirs. Most was created from cheap glass and coated with a poor paint job. She had no desire to purchase anything in the entire store. She smiled to the clerk who seemed to eye her like he had not seen a customer in years. She left the store before he came out to convince her to buy something.

The next store was a well-maintained attire shop. Most of the clothes inside were of Greek origin. It had some interesting design. Lara considered buying something, but decided she had enough clothes as it was. She left the store and passed the next store that looked like a children's toy store.

The next store was a fishing store. It had several harpoon guns mounted on the back wall, which Lara decided to take a look at. She could not remember the last time she shot of one of these. It had been a while. She needed a new one. Never knew when she would have to swim beneath the ocean to another sunken ship. Before she could ask the man for a price a sleek dagger flew past her face and connected to the wall next to her. Lara quickly looked in the direction of the dagger. It was the woman. Still cloaked, except extracting daggers from inside the cloak. She threw another one. Lara slid behind a shelf.

"Get down!" she yelled at the clerk, though she doubted the woman would attack him at the moment. "Who are you?" Lara asked, though expecting silence from the woman. As though she would really come out and say, "Oh, I'm the souvenirs shop clerk's wife Kelly, I'm here to kill you for not purchasing anything". Lara ignored her sudden thought and scooted up a bit to kick a harpoon gun off the wall and into her hand. Another dagger flew into the wall. Lara dived around the shelf and nailed the woman's hand with a harpoon, causing her to loose the dagger she had in her hand.

Lara charged at her and crescent kicked the next hand that pulled out another dagger. Then gave a powerful lunging kick to her face, knocking her back. She took out yet another and instead masterfully threw it up to the ceiling, knocking down a large chandelier, Lara had not noticed. She quickly executed two fast backhand springs, barely avoiding it. When she looked up, the woman disappeared.

"Did you see where she went?" Lara asked the frightened clerk. He shook his head. Lara raced out of the shop to see if she was visible, but no one was cloaked, or running. She went to her jeep, keeping a close eye out for any more daggers coming at her face. When she got to her jeep, she quickly contacted Zip.

"Yeah-" he started.

"Zip. That woman attacked me," Lara said angrily.

"What? Did she get away?"

"Yes. She is an apparent expert in knife throwing. She is far more than a thief," Lara stated as she caught a helicopter out of the corner of her eye.

"Huh? Well that's strange of her to attack you though, isn't it. I mean, when thieves steal something, they normally don't come back to rub it in do they?" Zip said.

"No. She must know there are more pieces. And she must know I was intending to find them. Have you checked that recording?" Lara asked as she started her engine.

"Yeah. The light from the bolt seems to linger for a bit. I know it would be odd, but I think it was possible for her to time her entrance with the lightning bolt. Though, I don't know how. I also don't know why. I mean, the only reason for that would be if she knew she was being watched, right?" Zip asked.

"I would assume. And when she came out, is any part of her face visible?" Lara asked.

"Nope. Completely covered. However, the artifact is in plain view. You want a picture of it," Zip.

"That would be lovely, thank you Zip. I'll see you in a bit, my ride is here. Oh, and fiddle with the brightness and contrast on the lightning bolt. Maybe you can see a glimpse of her," Lara instructed as she pulled back into the landing pad.

"Will do," Zip stated. Lara pulled up to the gate and was let through this time. She waited as the helicopter landed. Another man came up to her after she grabbed her stuff from the jeep. She informed him of where she rented the jeep from so he could take it back for her. She went ahead and strapped on her pistols, although she gained several worried looks from the men at the gate. When the helicopter settled to where she could climb in she walked towards it. Over blades of the helicopter, she still could hear a distant screaming from two men. Lara turned her head to see the two men at the gate fall to the ground, from knives that were jutting from their skulls.

Now Lara was beyond the point of anger. This woman trying to kill her was one thing, but killing innocent people was crossing the line. The strange woman, Lara now noticed, was approaching her in a full sprint. Intent on killing her before leaving. Lara drew her guns and fired two shots that flew over the quickest dodge roll Lara had ever seen. The woman came up between her arms and elbowed her in the face with the speed of martial arts master. Lara reeled back before the woman grabbed Lara's neck and attempted to force her on the ground. Lara brought her guns up to the woman's body, indicating that she intended to shoot her if she did not release. She complied with an unexpected smile.

"What are your intentions!" Lara yelled through the extremely loud helicopter, though the only way you could tell what she said was by reading her lips. Although Lara held her guns up to the woman, the cocky smile made Lara feel uneasy.

"Foolish mortal," the woman said, not raising her voice at all, yet Lara could her it echo in her head. A sudden clash of thunder and Lara sensed the bolt of lightning that was about to follow. She dived under the helicopter and quickly rolled to the other side, seeing the bright flash touch the ground. When she got to the other side, she yanked open the helicopter door, climbed in, and shut it.

"What is happening out there!" Santori yelled as though he was in perilous danger.

"Never mind, just go!" Lara shouted irately. She glanced out the window, but knew what she was going to find. A rough, black circle from where the bolt had hit, but no woman to be found. She knew how she had gotten into the tomb now, and she had an impulsive feeling she was not dealing with an average person, but of an angry goddess whose every intention was to gain her staff back, at whatever cost.

* * *

_Okay, so this chapter was also rather short. My apologies, I usually have longer chapters. It will get bigger as I go, I promise. Please review and tell me what you think of the development of the story. Comments and critizism is welcome! I would like to have at least 6 reviews before I update! Oh, and since I finished some other fics I will be able to update sooner!_


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